Chris Froome absence from Tour Down Under ‘puzzling’ – Brian Cookson

UCI president keen to see top names taking part in WorldTour races UCI president Brian Cookson, keen for WorldTour events to attract the biggest names, has proclaimed Chris Froome’s absence from the Tour Down Under ‘an odd decision by Team Sky’. Froome himself has pointed out that he almost always starts racing in February and with his son having only recently been born, an extra week at home was rather more valuable to him.

The Adelaide Advertiser (link is external) reports that Cookson is frustrated that WorldTour races often lack many of the sport’s biggest stars. While admitting that he understood why this was often the case, he singled out Sky for particular criticism with regards to the recently-completed Tour Down Under, won by Simon Gerrans .

“I think it’s an odd decision by Team Sky,” he said about Froome’s absence. “It’s not a helpful decision, but one understands why teams sometimes make these decisions. It’s a long season and riders need to prepare in the best way, but certainly that was a puzzling decision to me.”

Cookson then argued that the Tour Down Under had perhaps been ‘a little bit of a victim of its own success’. “It’s a […]